PHC stays appointments in KP health projects

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday stayed the appointments in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department in various projects including the Mother, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) and Expanded Programme on Immunisation.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Muhammad Daud Khan issued the stay order on the appointments under the Integrated PC-1 through which the Health Department had integrated several health-related projects, including the MNCH.
About 297 male and female employees of MNCH working as doctors, lady health visitors, computer operators, medical technicians and Class-IV filed the petition against the government’s plans to sack them from service and recruit new staff in their place.
Sardar Ali Raza, counsel for the petitioners, submitted before the court that his clients had been working in the KP MNCH project since 2006. He pointed out that in 2012 the high court restrained the provincial government from removing them from service until June 2015 when the project is going to expire.
The lawyer said that after the devolution of the ministries under the 18th Amendment, the employees came under the ambit of provincial government.He said that that after devolution of the ministries the provincial government issued integrated PC-1 for health-related projects including the MNCH and EPI and wanted to recruit new staff.
He said the petitioners had experience in these projects since 2006 but the provincial government had started recruitment of new employees. He argued that this amounted to injustice and discrimination with the petitioners.
Advocate Sardar Ali Raza informed the bench that fresh appointments were made in the projects despite the court’s restraining order. The court issued direction that no further appointments would be made till the next order of the court.
Additional Advocate General Mujahid Ali requested the court to give some time to the health department for submission of the written comments in the case.The court directed the department to submit comments within two weeks in the case and stayed the appointments till next order. The court also restrained the provincial government from any adverse action against the petitioners till disposal of the petition.